X-ray shield



Aug. 3l, 1943. l.. J. sTRoBlNo X-RAY SHIELD .Filed Deo. 28, 1940INVENTOR Louis J. Sfrobino .ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 31,V 1943 UNITED,STATES mi'rrny'r oFFlcs Xg-RAY SHIELDy VLouis J. stmbino, Bethel, cem.applicaties December 2s, masemlne 372,160

comme. (ci. 25e-10a) This invention relates to improvements in `X- rayshields :and processes for making X-ray shields.

YParticularly it relates to `as are especially needed by operators whosehands are more or less in a field of X-rays repeatedly in the course oftheirc work.

Deeiency of exihility, in a shielding glove, Ydrills the sensitivity .ofthe operators touch, aiieets his operative skill and slows his action.Also it interferes with his-continuity of procedure, in caseswhere hehas to write notes of his observations, intermittently, ior which hemust remove his hand from the glove because he cannot write whilewearing the glove. -It would be very helpful to be able-to make suchnotes, as also toxbe Vble t0 hlndle instrumenfavwith more facility thanis possible while wear-inge shielding yglove of any type hithertoavailable.

Efforts to make a shield which an operator's hand can wear with somedegree of flexibility have previously been made byfiastening smallplates ofsheet lead in overlapping relation Von a offrubbelf, vulcanizedwith sulfide. of lead; but

so far'as I amaware no adefmateV hand-shieldV hasy heretofore been.--known which combines in .itself the requisite opacity, toX-rays and thedethe latter is held in vplace by an adhering iiexible film, such as isusedin other relations for carrying and h holding pigment, renderedflexible by admixed glycerine or other non-drying substance. Exteriorlya thin film of. lacquer, or other substance which when dry is flexiblewith a rm surface, will vprovide a smooth conning finish. Or, asuperficial dispersion lof opaque materialmay be held tothejimpregnatedtissue lby an adhesive coating such as latex, sprayed over the tissue,and having the opaque dispersion sprayed over ythe latex: but as` thelatex dries to a somewhat stii form theproduct ultimately `is lessflexible.

The extreme neness of the dividing of the lead accompanied by theholding of its fine particles in the microscopic pores throughout thevsheet holds together the opaque elements in a sheet form, and thatsheet has a flexibility which vthe opaque element would not have if itwere an glove: also by making theiglove of ethiek sheet 4 e dispersion;Thus opacity ointhe compositesheet .is attained.- During a flexing ofthe sheet they particles"move, relativeftoeach other, but theperfectionof covering continues-because some Aor may be of leather or ofany woven or felted fabric, or of other porous material-andrenderingthat Y tlexible sheet opaque by filling it with finely dlvidedopaque material; also, if desired, coating it with such. It will beunderstood that the term opaqueas hereiny used refers onlyto opacity t0X-rays, or to whatever other rays outside of the visible spectrum arevtobe stoppedvbythe shield. Fromgthe opaque composite lsheet thus producedany desired axticles'can bel made; and it is found that gloves thus madecan have the adequate flexibilityvand opacity aboveA indicated. I

d results A.According to the invention the des' are attained byV makingYa dispersion of avery nelydivided opaque material, Vof which metaliiclfead is an example, throughout lthe bodyofy a porous iiexible sheet.The'kind of materlalgof the sheet may be selected from amongftissues ofahy suitabiyfporous and strong sort, examples be ing leather, andwovenorfelted fabrics. The iiexible sheet Itaining Lon such ra. dispersionbecomes opacied without too great loss ofiiexibilv If the dispersion inthe body ,of the sheet is to`be supplemented by a. supercial dispersion,55'

other particles areVV always standingrover .each

minute space between-particles, in position torprevent .that spacebeingreached by any rectif linearlyapproaching X-ray. s v vThe tissue atpresent preferred forthus carrying .the'dispersion of opaquematter .issheep-k akincr split pigskin. Skinsof'these varieties are receptive,having good tensiley strength to v1|?\11f'.t1le opaque lllngwhich can becontainedv in a. single glove skin is not enough to protect ones handcompletely from the penetration of an X- ray beam.'V The inventionattains the desired protection by making gloves of severaldifferentsizes, for example three or four, capable of being nested oneWithin another. The inmost of these gloves preferably has another glovetted `Within it,

made of silk, rayon, vor other slippery synthetic textile fabric.v Thuscompleted, the composite gloveslips easily on and-off a persons hand.

When the wearers hand or iingers are bent, as in writing, the severalplies of impregnated matcrial slipover each other with ease and freedom.

The subdivision, of the total thickness necessary for they opacity,permits the internal compression and expansion, which occur when a thickvsheet bends,` to be accommodated byvmutual adjustment of the-severalplies, relative to each other,A

y precipitate the opaque substance within the body so that in the wholethere is flexibility in all 4di v rections, aswell asl directions. l Forthe opaque material, finely divided lead appears `to `be thesubstancemost inexpensively and abundantly available at `thepresent-time. 'I'his can be introduced in either of several waysindicated below, or in them cumulatively, by a Dri-)cg4` ess including amechanical step which is econom ical of human labor.` Thus the cost ofthe prod uct falls at a level lowenough to permit ofthe flexibleopaqueproduct being purchased and en'- joyed by those whose occupationgives rise tothe' need for X-ray protection. The 'inventionis notlimitedv to using lead for the opaque substance, for any substanceopaque to the rays which are to duced `in the tissue by chemical actionof reagents introduced in solution. I1' f f .The sheet material thusproduced, `herein dea high degree o f opacity in all Wise with the`other solution, causing reaction of the tissue. Illustratively, suchtwo solutions4 may be aqueous solutions of lead acetate and sodiumbromide, either solution `being'fintroduced by tumbling the tissue init, then removing its excess above what isabsorbed; then doinglikeresulting in precipitation of insoluble lead bromide in finelydivided form. This process may be repeated several ytlmes,until the skinwill absorb and hold no`r`no'r`e. Either of these lead-impregnatingmethods may be used alone, or both may v be used, cumulatively, the onebeing applied after the other, to add to the body of lead'which thev`:leather or other tissue can thus be made to carry.

Then washing, fat liquoring land drying may vfollow'in theusual mannerof tanners, or vin any suitable way; andfa'fter the leather is iinishedthe vsurface coatings of opaque matter and their -be excluded can beused, if capable-'off being in'. troduced iniinely divided form,'or ofbeing pro'- scribed as it can be utilized for'the making of exiblegloves, is available for other purposes,

`whether or not a high degree of flexibility is desired. z Such uses`may be for protecting the sealing i'llms may be added. The iiexibleopaque composite sheet materi'al'is theny 'ready'to be made intolanysuitable article, or'toibe used in simple sheet form. n

Other salts which precipitate a deposit opaque f i to X-raysmay beusedja great number of sub'- stances which are opaque to X-'rays beingknown. Among such, in addition to l'ead,'are barium; vbismuth; tungsten;mercury; and many other ofthe regionsadjacent to one ,where'a person is.beingY treated with X-rays; or maybe used as aprons, enwrapments 4orshields of anysort for protecting a persomanimal orthing exposed toX-rays,

in any of the many hospital, laboratory vand industrial processesinwhich X-ray emanations are `11.58121.' 'l 1 f `A tissue fabricatedofwovenor'felted animal or` vegetable fibres, as Awool or cott0n,'willordi;

narily absorb and carry more. of. the dispersion of opaque material thanwill pi'gskin, per unit-of thickness? and can be thicker; but such'ordi,-

" narily will-'netheid it as strongly' as leatherwill.

A good opaque flexible composite gloveis made by a. series nestingfoftwo or more vopa'ciiled skin gloves, one within the other, witl'lvonelorlmore j opacii'led gloves of woven'orfelte'dfabric inter'` vening inthe series; andan lnmost glove of'thin slippery 'fabric which need notbel opacied.

Thewdispersingof the opaque material canfbe f done by tumbling theskins, fabrics or other pieces of tissue 'inaldruxn or: othercontainenrin "aliquid u Y whichv either carries'inso'luble opaquev`materialV y `into the body ofthe tissue, or isA a potentialEcol-i+-Atributor to the makingof a deposit'jof the'opaq'ue `material inthatfbody. lIn'aproce'ss whichI have ffoundgood the: tumbling canbe'.executed, ina.v f drum `such as ltanners'usaand thematerial tobe tumbledwith the skin vis very iinelyldlvided lead.'

Lead., isA insoluble in Water. lSpecivc material found ,satisfactory `ismetallic ness'it `appears to be almost ina-'colloidal state ofVfluidity. The test however is' that it lbe fine enough'so that it worksits way intothelinterior of theskin wheny =thu`s tumbled;fWhen mixedwith water 1n the tumbling drumflead of this iineness goes 'intoflotatlonorsuspension, land sakslnto the tissuewith the water.` LAA'material which can be in other" means. One" is` to impregnato thetissue Slfvcssively. with solulins which reacts ,as t0 ax t themtemaruepesltig cafbe eirectedgby i heavy metals, which are all insome'degree opaque to X-rays; and some of. the non-"metalaamong whichare the halides. v"The method for intro-r ducing .other substances maybe similar to that herein illustratively described for lead.

The 'accompanying' drawing represents an em'- "bodiment of l.theinvention in sheet material; vand an. embodiment of 'that -material in aglove;

but it'will be understood'that the invention is not` l limited,l to :theparticular embodiments which are herein Shown for* illustration of theprinciples involved. f

It is intended r11-aune patent shan cover, by

suitable expressionin'the appended claims, whatv.ever features ofpratentablenovelty v exist in the i Figure 2 is a sectioni'on the'line"-inventio'n disclosed except vthat 'the improve;V

mentsvinf processes herein disclosed 'aref claimed inmyfco-pendi'ngapplication Serial No.f'419,012,

filed November 13, 1941,v relating to Processes for making flexibleprotective shields.

`In theaccompanying?drawing:v v

embodying-'the invention;l r y v 2 2 ofrigure 1,.` ons a larger scale;dagrammaticallyk showv .leadiine enough yto go ythrough a 30G-meshscreen- In vthis fineing Ystructurev of a composite glove which hasthreeplies of opaque sheets; andI 4" f Figure' 3 is a-fragme'n'tonastill larger scale showing diagra'r'runaticallyf'the structure of oneof the plies of Figure 2.

an--animalskin, but mayv belva cotton or woolen fabric orv other'flexible tissue sheet which is somewhatporous; and the small dotsllvdis-A tributed all through this elementlndcate the presence ofsn'iall particles of leadvor other subv persed throughout the whole ofthe element l0.

troduced similarly,'noturvluite so.'

Covering'veach' face oi vthe skin'is a layer f4 of adhesive, vlrhichvmay rbe latex that has been 'sprayed upon it. Outside'of this, on eachside, is

a layer i6 representing a material such as isrused for Acarryingpigment, vthroughoutY which are. dis:

tributedsrnall ydots 18 representing Xfray opaque material in'nelydivided condition, whichmay be the-same as.I ordiiferent from thekindlof may vIn yFigure 3, the middle velement I3 represents represented by.the aus n.1 Ana asse c( this is a layer 2l which represents athlncoatiagof lastimar or other flexible smooth finish ep- ,spraying orotherwise.

The element l! is inherently flexible and for example, be sheepskin or`split pigskin. The superficial film I4 should also beilexible. If ahigh degree af-flexibility is desired the latex mentiened as possiblyconstituting thiselement may be found tointroduce more stif'lxiess'than`is want ed, when it is dry. In that case this element should be omitted,and the opaque material, which it would be carrying if present, can, ifneeded. be added by other means, to that carried within the body of thesheepskin. The element i6 is a film of drying oil or the like, madeflexible by the inclusion of glycerine or the like and carrying thefinely divided opaque material dispersed throughout its body. This holdsitself naturally to the latex, or to the element I0 if the latex elementi4 should be absent. The inherently yflexible coating of lacquer 20,which adheres to its outer face, strengthens it against breakage byflexure.

In Figure 2, which shows a cross section through the wrist of a glove30, the glove has a plurality of plies 22, each being such as the wholeof the by one or more lines of stitching 26 at the` wristl edge of theglove.v The maker of the glove has considerable latitude in designingthe details, contents and construction of each unit 22, as the tissueIl) of Figure 3 maybe either skin or manufactured fabric, and the layersI6 are merely for holding additional thickness of the opaque dispersion,while the layer 2D is for the physical retention and enclosure of theopaque material.

For easy flexibility the successive plies lie loosely over each other,so that each can slip somewhat relative to its neighbors, when fingersbend. I1' one or more units 22 have large-poredwoven or felted fabric,the setting of such betweenY units 22 having skin makes a totalstructure in which Y the loosening of the opaque powder from the fabricbecomes harmless because theskins, having closer texture, preventitsescape from the If necessary to prevent migration of.

The impregnatlng step is best executed-with penetrating fluids of'lowvisco'slty.f Mixing water with the described very fine metallic leadhelps carry the lead intoitheporous sheet, with enfn tranceof water. Ifthe ylead is introducedv in a form Awhich is not actually metallic, 'aslnlead f For the impregnating a strong or concentrated,

solution is advisable, one in the region of 50% saturation in waterbeingl useful at a temperature in the region of 1Z0-125 F.

If the penetration is eilected in a tannery, in drums suchV as are usedthere, the interior of the drum will have pegs 'several inches longdistributed a foot or so apart; and skins of standard size will thus becarried up and dropped repeatedly flexing the skin until the fluid andwhatever is `suspended in it has fully penetrated, which may be in ahalf hour, or less, as `the pounding loosens and moves about the fibresin the skin, somewhat, relative to each other, and thus makes spacesinto which the solution goes more readily than if the leather weremerely immersed. The precipitation occurs wherever the sodium bromide,or potassium iodide, if that be used, finds the acetate, within or onthe surface of the skin. The excess of fluid, not'entering the skin,facilitates the tumbling and helps avoid injury of the skin. Theprecipitated lead salt coats the leather fibres and is adsorbed thereonrather strongly. Easier penetration of the preferred kind of skin, aspigskin or sheepskin, is had by rst -degraining the skin, as bysplitting, shaving,

bucktailing, sueding or other method. The tansafeguard against abrasiveloosening and escape of the opaque powder; and there may be a similarexterior -(not shown) glove ply, thin and closely woven, with likeeffect. Both of these prevent the glove from crocking when touched.without too seriously diminishing ts flexibility.

"In place of the latex or lacquer suggested for holding additionalopaque powder on they surface of the leather o r other tissue, lanysuitable synthetic resinous Vor rubber-like compound` which is flexiblewhen drymay be used, illustrations of which are found among Vinyl resinsand among syntheticA rubbers and rubber hydro'chloride compositions. f

nage may be by any method, but preferably is by one which makes a softspongy leather, preferably chrome tanning. The presence of theintroduced solid material makes it advisable to use unusually largeamounts of fatliquor to keep the leather soft, because of the tendencyof finely divided powders to absorb oils and fatliquors; andthisaugmentation of fatliquor increases the strength of the product bycounteracting the weakness which would otherwise be introduced by theabnormal separation of the leather fibres by inert particles.

vIclaim as my invention: l

1. A nexibie shield against X-rays-and other rays of the classdescribed, comprising a sheet of material which inherently is porous,flexible, and penetrable by said rays, kcombined with a sub-' stancewhich is of a nature opaque to the said rays and is insoluble in water;said substance being in finely divided condition dispersed in pores ofthe said material.

2. A flexible shieldagainst X-rays and otherV rays Vof the classdescribed, comprising a sheet of material which inherently is porous,flexible and penetrable by said rays, combined with metallic lead infinely divided condition dispersed in pores of the said material. y jy3. A flexible ray-shield as in claim 1, further characterized in that .awoven textile sheet is secured over the surface of said porous sheet andits opaque contents. Y

4. A shieldagainst X-raysand other "rays of Y `theclass.desctibedeoinprising the `combination 1 f of a dispersioneof a.nely vdivided substance, of anatureopaque to the said rays, land. 'a`flexible sheetv of solldfvmaterial, chemically distinct from `thesaidsubstance, but having relatively large pores-holding that substanceas a powder inythe midstof the sheet body; awearing'surfaceofvleathenhaving relatively lsmall pores, covering one yor Abothsurfaces-of the powder-,holding sheet 2,828,105 y n v ply 'glove Whose'lplies are flexible porous sheets, Y which overlie each' other loosely,with freedom to slip .relatively to each other, each being Aofmaterialinherently penetrable by the rays,- but havl' ing Within ltspores asubstance which is opaque to thekind of rays against which the glove has`a shielding effect. .v 1 l 6. A flexible rayg-shieldingglove in Whih apriv mary vvmaterial of lthe glove is split `pgskin andconflningthepowder'against escape, and ad- 10 throughout Which'there is vmetallicleadvrin finely ditional opaque powder carried by the leather.-

5 A-flexible rayf-shieldingglove, being a-pluraldividedrform. v I ,y l,I LOUIS J. STROB1NO.

